Literacy in the curriculum
According to the Australian Curriculum (2014), Literacy involves students in listening to, reading, viewing, speaking, writing and creating oral, print, visual and digital texts, and using and modifying language for different purposes in a range of contexts.
This indicates to all of us, that literacy is everywhere around us. We are born with literacy skills, and as we grow older, we develop our skills, not just from reading and writing, but the way in which we interpret visuals such as a "STOP" sign indicating us to stop, or through digital texts. Literacy is a skill that develops from reading to listening. According to Education Queensland (2012) literacy allows us to make sense of the world, and develops our skills in communication. Literacy is important because it is a crucial skill so that children can succeed in their schooling, and everyday life. Literacy lets us gain an understanding in many everyday events which we don't think about: television, radio, reading books and newspapers, maps, having conversations, or putting something together with instructions. (Education Queensland, 2012). Literacy in the text book
As our the textbook Literacy Fourth Edition (2010) states on page 465, Literature is now a core element of the new Australian Curriculum, and now Literacy taught to children is no longer just reading and writing. Literature is a form of expression for Humans' need to communicate (Literacy, 2010, pg 469). It is mentioned that literacy has been redefined to include digital literacy end E-literacies (Literacy, 2010, pg 468).
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My personal ideas on Literacy
Personally, I believe that literacy is a skill we develop before we go to school. We begin to become literate from the day we're born by listening to speech around us, interpreting what people are saying by listening to their voice and learning from their non-verbal forms of communication such as facial expression. As we grow older we begin to learn that tones determine whether we're in trouble with our parents, or we're being praised. Soon we begin to learn that visual objects have meaning, and we need to understand them. Such as traffic lights indicating Stop, or Go. Literacy isn't just limited to English, but to every language around the world. Everyone everywhere, has their own form of literacy skills. We can also delve deeper into our understandings of literacy by understanding another language, skills we re-learn, which redefine our current understanding of our first language. We then are able to fully understand the importance of non-verbal communication, and appreciated visuals, as well as written texts. Listening also becomes a key factor for us to be literate.
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